Of Boycotts, Bollywood and Bafflement and that feel of Alice down the rabbit hole!

It would appear that with the growing advent and accessibility of social media, so many people have taken leave of their senses. Boycotting something or the other seems to be the order of the day and the first bastion to fall is that of common sense, thus paving the way for veritable absurdity

THIS TOO SHALL PASS/By Punam Bakshi Mohandas

This column may read/sound as though it’s about Bollywood, but, in point of fact, it’s about how absolutely disheartening it is to see so many people in the grip of some illogical frenzy that can best be attributed to some brainless twats on social media.

In the recent few weeks, there’s been a lot of ‘boycott’ calls for films on Twitter and Facebook. Boycott the movie Laal Singh Chadha. Err, why? Because the hero, Aamir Khan is a Muslim; b) because his former (Hindu) wife Kiran once said she doesn’t feel India is safe for her family; c) because Aamir did or said something in the film ‘PK’ (released in 2014, for Chrissake) that people now find objectionable! Lest the film’s heroine, Kareena Kapoor Khan feel left out, she has a boycott call of her own, apparently because a) she married a Muslim; b) her sons have non-Hindu monikers; c) she once famously said, “if you don’t like me, don’t watch my movies”.

Joining this illustrious pair on the boycott bandwagon are Arjun Kapoor for succinctly stating that perhaps it had been a mistake for the industry folk to be decent and stay silent when the boycott calls first started; Alia Bhatt for also stating defiantly “if you don’t like me, don’t watch my movies” and for holding a UK passport on account of being born in that country; Ranbir Kapoor for the same “if you don’t like…” dialogue as also allegedly for once having stated he eats beef; Hritihik Roshan for praising ‘Laal Singh Chadha’; writer Kanika Dhillon (‘Raksha Bandhan’, ‘Manmarziyaan’ etc) because of her stance on the intolerance; Taapsee Pannu for dismissing the boycott trend as a “joke”; Anurag Kashyap for just being Anurag Kashyap; Karan Johar for just being Karan Johar and also viewed as a product of “nepotism” merely because he hails from a film family.

Even a venerable legend like Dilip Kumar – God rest his soul – has been dragged into the fray, by some jeering that he had to change his name (Yusuf Khan) to a Hindu one because he was scared to be a Muslim openly. Certainly, he was scared – of his father! It has been chronicled several times by the actor himself – who has always been referred to as “Yusuf Sahab” by industry insiders – that he changed his name because it was his passion to join the film industry, something his Pathan progenitor didn’t approve of and so he changed his name out of fear his father would find out what he was up to.

You may well ask what an actor’s personal life or what his/her spouse says has anything to do with movie-watching. As I said before, it’s illogical. I’d like to add to that by saying it’s utterly irrational, even, bordering on madness! On one hand, we treat them as demi-gods and want them to have a say on any horrific tragedy, on natural calamities, on the rising price of fuel, cooking gas and food items, on politics; on the other, we berate and belittle them for daring to voice their opinions. Are actors not allowed to hold any views that may be contrary to that of the general Indian public?

The real issue

Leaving aside actors and Bollywood for the nonce, while completely keeping in mind that for Indians, cricket and films are the two major religions, let’s talk about the asal mudda, which, to my mind, is intolerance. Common sense dictates that we go to watch a film for entertainment, to afford us relief from our daily routines and petty problems for a couple of hours. We are therefore, justified in being critical of an actor’s looks, acting, dialogue delivery, or the story and songs. Since when did what someone eats or opines on influence our entertainment quotient?

The word ‘boycott’ was used with wisdom by our brave freedom fighters, when they stood up for something they truly believed in, without resorting to abuse, aggression, or violence. Somewhere, it tugs at my soul to see this word bandied about so carelessly now, by armchair digital “warriors” who probably wouldn’t have an iota of courage or self-sacrifice in their bones that the original callers of boycott did! It’s easy enough to use the term – but do they realise how many hundreds of homes and hearths are fuelled by ONE movie?

Also by the same author: Whose father, what goes? How many of us really care about how we’re ravaging the planet? – THE NEWS PORTER

We, the audience, tend to associate a film with the hero/heroine/director, but there is a phalanx of technicians, set designers, stuntmen, back-up dancers, spot boys, caterers, carpenters, transportation providers, musicians, singers, distributors, et al, associated with any project. Inn sab ke pet pe laat marna hai kya, because you disagree with what your favourite hero eats or wears (or doesn’t, in the recent case of Ranveer Singh!)

Kareena is quite right. If you don’t like her, don’t go watch her movie. But stop inciting others to do likewise on social media, because …well, I’ve just explained why! Duhhh!

Uh oh. As I was about to pen off, I hear that the cult film ‘Sholay’ is under the ‘boycott gang’ scanner. (I have to clutch my hair in disbelief here. For goodness’ sake – the movie released in 1975!) Why? Lots of absurd reasons, topped by the fact that the movie was penned by the Muslim writers Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan. Generations of Indians as well as Pakistanis have grown up on those famous one-liner dialogues! Oh, well. Boycotting a film that released about half a century ago – good luck with all the velagiri out there!

(Views are personal and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same)

Punam Bakshi Mohandas is a journalist and writer with 25-plus years of work experience across India, Dubai and Thailand. A nomad at heart, having travelled over 43-countries at last count, Punam is also a film critic. She was a weekly columnist for the Hindustan Times (New Delhi edition), Delhi Midday, The Financial Express, The Statesman and the Times of India (Kolkata edition). She is also the author of the book, ‘Fallen Angels’.